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Country singer Slim Whitman dead at age 90

By Terry Spencer, Associated Press

Posted:
06/19/2013 08:45:19 AM MDT

Updated:
06/19/2013 11:43:54 AM MDT

FILE - This undated file photo shows country singer Slim Whitman. Whitman died Wednesday, June 12, 2013 of heart failure in Florida. He was 90. Whitman's career began in the late 1940s, and his tenor falsetto and ebony mustache and sideburns became global trademarks. They were also an inspiration for countless jokes thanks to the ubiquitous 1980s and 1990s TV commercials that pitched his records. (AP Photo, file)

MIAMI (AP) — Country singer Slim Whitman has died at the age of 90 in Florida.

Whitman's career began in the late 1940s, and his tenor falsetto and ebony mustache and sideburns became global trademarks. They were also an inspiration for countless jokes thanks to the ubiquitous 1980s and 1990s TV commercials that pitched his records.

He was a serious musical influence on early rock. In the British Isles, he was known as a pioneer of country music for popularizing the style there. Whitman also encouraged a teen Elvis Presley when the young singer made his professional debut.

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